Molly (2017)

Plot: A girl living alone in a post apocalyptic wasteland finds herself hunted down by marauders who want her to fight in their fighting pit for their entertainment.

Tagline – The legend is real..

Runtime: 1 Hour 31 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Chaotic Gem

Story: Molly starts as we see how Molly (Batelaan) can defend herself in the post-apocalyptic world she is living alone in. she is a scavenger in this world with a hidden ability. This world is also populated by villainous figure with Deacon (Bolt) controlling a fighting put for the entertainment of his people, he is always looking for new victims to please the crowd.

Molly becomes his latest target as he sends his men in search for her, can she survive and escape this fate which could bring about her end or give her the freedom she desires.

Thoughts on Molly

Characters – Molly is the lone scavengers in the wasteland, she can defend herself against multiple enemies and just wants freedom, she does the right thing for the innocent people in the world, but her powers are what are required by the villainous ruler of the wasteland. Bailey is the young girl that Molly finds alone in the wasteland, she is waiting for her parents to return and must rely on help from Molly to survive when they don’t. Deacon is the ruler of the wasteland, he organises the fights between infected and the strong and after being embarrassed he wants a new fighter, picking Molly from her destruction of his men in the wasteland. Deacon isn’t as controlling as we would be used and for the most part we focus on him trying to remain in power while being on the edge. The rest of the characters we meet are the seemingly endless amounts of soldiers willing to die for Deacon, with Kimmy being the strongest of them all.

Performances – Julia Batelaan in the leading role of the film is fantastic, we get to see how she can handle the fighting sequences while constantly looking vulnerable making her look like the unlikely hero. Emma de Paauw is good for a child star, she fits the innocence needed for this world and film. Joost Bolt as the main villain does come off as the weakest part of the film, he never feels threatening and goes over the top at times. Annelies Appelhof does make for a great strongest villain, the one that can go toe to toe with Molly which makes her the one you fear.

Story – The story here follows a lone survivor in a wasteland that must go in head first to take on a villainous ruler of the wasteland. This does have strong connections to what we saw in ‘Turbo Kid’ which was fun and while this is played along the serious tone more, it can still be enjoyed because of the simplistic nature of the story. sadly, the villain is underdeveloped which is disappointing because we need to want to see him get what he deserves by the end of the film and he never feels like a threat. The protective nature of Molly to a young girl in the world is the highlight, showing she will risk her life to save a stranger. The style of the storytelling is what will keep people happy in this film as it can take the back burner for action sequences too.

Action/Sci-Fi – The action in the film is the best part of the film, we start with small fights with each one stacking the odds against Molly, with the final act of the movie being one continuous take of chaos. This is in a post-apocalyptic world which is similar to many we have seen before, it does however give Molly powers which makes her unique to the world.

Settings – The film uses a couple of main settings, we have the open wasteland which is along a coastline and the base which is used for the final sequence, with the tight corridors showing us just what we will be seeing.

Special Effects – The effects are used to show off Molly’s power, they are strong for the film showing just what is waiting for anyone that gets in her way as she starts to learn from them.

Scene of the Movie – Base attack, wonderful continuous shot.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Never knowing just what Deacon has to offer outside the fighting ring.

Final Thoughts – This is a fun entertaining action film, it has a wonderful final act which barely lets you breath and a strong performance from our leading lady Julia Batelaan.

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